FIFA to announce 2018 World Cup host cities

Football's world governing body (FIFA) has confirmed it would announce the host cities of the 2018 World Cup in Russia Sep 29.

During a live broadcast on Russia's Channel One TV, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko will jointly unveil the final 11 host cities among 13 candidates, source said.

"I can say with pride that whichever host cities are finally selected, we believe that the entire country will win," Mutko said Friday.

Officials from FIFA and Russia, as well as Russian athletes, football stars and celebrities will also attend the announcement ceremony.

Russia was awarded the right to host the 2018 World Cup in December, 2010. A total of 13 Russian cities, including Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, Krasnodar and Sochi are vying to host World Cup matches.

Mutko said in April that FIFA has allocated nearly $700 million for the 2018 World Cup.

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